As the calendar turned, several notable patent assignments appeared in publicly available USPTO assignment records, including a batch of semiconductor patents and a batch of networking assets separately moved to two well-established monetization firms and transfers from two individual inventors to entities—one formed in Texas; the other, in Delaware—that appear poised for assertion.

An Eastern District of Texas jury has returned an infringement verdict in litigation filed by Acorn Semi, LLC against Samsung (2:19-cv-00347). On May 19, the jury found that the Samsung had infringed four semiconductor patents through the provision of wafers and processors manufactured using its 14 nm FinFET process technology as well as devices incorporating them, though it concluded that the company’s infringement had not been willful. The verdict also included a $25M damages award.

Acorn Semi, LLC has filed its first lawsuit over patents from the portfolio assigned to it by its corporate parent Acorn Technologies, Inc. on May 30, 2019. In an Eastern District of Texas complaint, the plaintiff accuses Samsung (2:19-cv-00347) of infringing six semiconductor patents through the provision of devices with transistors manufactured with “14 nm FinFET process technology”, including various Exynos series processors, and its Galaxy devices incorporating them, as well as devices made and sold by a wide range of third parties, including Alphabet (Google), Apple, ASUSTek, BBK Electronics (Vivo), BlackBerry, Lenovo (Motorola Mobility), Sony, Xiaomi, and ZTE, among others.